


Ensconce

by meghanisadweeb



Series: At Your Mercy 'Verse Spin-offs [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Arranged Marriage, At Your Mercy 'Verse, F/M, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, If this goes on it's going to be like 3 parts social justice to 1 part fluff to 78 parts angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 17:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13708893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meghanisadweeb/pseuds/meghanisadweeb
Summary: en·sconce[ənˈskäns]VERBestablish or settle (someone) in a comfortable, safe, or secret place.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [isnonstop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnonstop/gifts).



> This idea came to me into a dream, and I needed an excuse to get back into writing. So here we are. 
> 
> This takes place around three years after where we currently are in isnonstop's At Your Mercy 'verse. Both characters are eighteen.

The first thing that Ambrose noticed about Amelie White was that she was tall. Very, very tall. She probably had four inches or so on him, and she was wearing heels. She would have been intimidating, if not for the warm smiles that she would send in his direction or the soft look in her eyes.

 

Her father was a friend of Ambrose's, they were the same age, her family was wealthy, and she was a dominant. 

 

It only made sense that she would be Ambrose's fiancé.

 

The second thing that he noticed was that she was the most effortlessly dominant person he had ever met in his life. 

 

She wasn't entitled or flaunting about her command, it clearly just came to her easily. When she spoke she commanded the attention of the entire room, even when those who were listening to her speak were adults, and even fellow dominants. She didn’t make unnecessary demands and she wasn’t mean, but Ambrose was determined to be absolutely obedient so he wouldn’t ever see her when she was being less kind. 

 

He hadn't been asked about the arrangement, of course. It was just how things were; He was a submissive, and submissives weren't supposed to choose their spouses. He’d barely even been permitted to skim through his own betrothal contract. Only after Amelie had insisted and practically begged was he allowed to flip through it quickly before signing. It wasn’t like he could refuse to sign it, but it was nice that she thought of him.

 

From what he’d seen of Amelie up to this point, she wasn’t the worst dominant he could have gotten. She was definitely very attractive, but he’d never even had a conversation with her. He didn’t know if he ever  _ would _ , not a real one, at least. He would always be on his toes, always scared that he would be punished for disobedience or mouthing off to him.

 

“Ambrose, come and let me speak with you.” Amelie ordered after the contract had been signed and Ambrose had been collared, leading the submissive into the kitchen. He didn't have much of a choice in whether to follow or not.

 

Ambrose kept his eyes down, just as his mother had always instructed him to. “What did you need to tell me, ma'am?” He asked softly, his voice shaking a little. He swallowed thickly. The collar was a ever-present and unfamiliar weight around his neck. She had gone with blue suede and white lace trimming, as opposed to the traditional metal. It still locked, of course, but it was much more pretty and he imagined a lot more comfortable.

 

Amelie sighed quietly and hopped up onto the counter. “You can look me in the eye, and you don't have to call me ma’am if you don't want. I like 'miss’ better, anyways. 'Ma’am’ makes me feel old.” She hummed, and her eyes were warm when Ambrose met them. “That's better. Not being looked at… It's weird, you know?” She shrugged, crossing her legs. Ambrose didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to tell her that for fear of making her angry.

 

“Yes, miss.”

 

The girl winced a little, biting her lip. “I’m gonna have to get used to that, I guess. But what I wanted to talk about in the first place was, um. I don’t want you to act like… like  _ this. _ ” She waved her hand around vaguely, and Ambrose raised an eyebrow. “I want us to be… equals, in a sense. I know that you’re a sub, and I know that subs need to submit for their health and their sanity or whatever, but I want to know and get married to _ you. _ I don’t want to get to know some emotionless, unconditionally obedient husk of yourself.”

 

“Miss, I-”

 

“Let me finish.” The dominant commanded, but her voice was still kind. Ambrose shut up immediately. He didn't want to upset her. She was talking about equality, but she was still his dominant, the contract still said what it said, and he wasn't going to take any chances. He was pretty much property, and she could punish him for no reason, so he wasn't about to talk out of turn and risk making her angry or something. 

 

Amelie smiled softly at his obedience and continued. "I want to sit down with you after we move in together, and I want us to write a contract. It won't override the one we have unless your father signs it, which he absolutely won't do, but I want to have it as a reference. If I'm going to be a half-decent domme to you, I need to know what you like.” She sounded a little bit hopeful, if anything. 

 

After pausing to think for a second, she shook her head. “Something specific I want to touch on is safewords, and then punishment. I don't want to hurt you unless it's serious, and a punishment won't do anything unless there's a reason for it.”

 

“I-” Ambrose sighed quietly. Despite what Amelie was saying, it was too good to be true. Quietly agreeing with everything she said was his place now. “That sounds good, miss.”

 

-

 

The apartment was nice, Ambrose supposed. Amelie's family clearly had money. It was fairly bare but, as Amelie had explained, the two of them could decorate it together at a later date. 

 

“Okay, okay. How do you want to approach this whole contract-writing thing? I didn’t really help write ours, I just gave ideas and vetoed some things.” Amelie bit her lip, sitting down next to Ambrose at the dinner table. They had a legal pad set out in front of them, with nothing but  _ Contract _ scribbled at the top of it.

 

Ambrose shrugged, looking down at his lap. “I don’t know, miss. I’ve never really- I’ve never really thought about what I want from a dominant. I always just sort of assumed that my dominant would choose everything for me.”

 

“Okay. Hey, that’s okay. We’ll start slow.” Amelie thought for a second, but then hunched over and started writing on the paper.

 

_ The following is an agreement between Ambrose Madison and Amelie White. This is in no way binding. It may be edited or changed only with permission from both the Submissive and the Dominant. _

 

_ Ambrose Madison, hereafter referred to as the Submissive, agrees to relinquish his personal desires for those of Amelie White, hereafter referred to as the Dominant, within the restrictions of this contract. The Submissive, however, has the ability to withdraw from an act at any time by saying his safeword _

 

She stopped, sitting up and smiling at Ambrose. “What do you want your safeword to be?” She asked softly, taking Ambrose’s hand and squeezing it.

 

“Um. What's your middle name?” He'd only ever been told about safewords at school, and he figured that something he wouldn't use in any other context was as good as any. He didn’t understand the point of them in the first place. He wouldn’t ever say no to Amelie. That wasn’t what submissives were supposed to do. They were supposed to be pretty, silent, and fuckable. 

 

“Jane. Is that what you want to go with?”

 

Ambrose nodded, fiddling with his shirt sleeve. He didn't see why any of this was necessary because the contract didn't have to be followed, but he would humor his domme to make his own life easier. 

 

“I don't know how much you know about the stoplight system, but I feel like we should have a 'yellow’ equivalent. Is my first name okay for that?”

 

“Yes, miss.”

 

Ambrose heard the dominant sigh softly, but she didn't say anything about whatever was bothering her. 

 

_ ‘Jane’ to bring the activity to a complete stop. In order to pause and talk about the activity at hand, he will say ‘Amelie’. The Submissive will never be punished for using a safeword. Should the Dominant willfully ignore a safeword, the contract could be terminated by wish of the submissive. _

 

They continued on like that, chatting about various punishments and rules and expectations. The two of them talked all through the night, and Ambrose actually found himself relaxing. When he and Amelie lay in bed that night, with her body pressed against his, he thought that this entire thing might not be so bad. Amelie was not only kind, she apparently was also quite funny. The way that she laughed was like the clinking of glasses at one of his father’s dinner parties he had never been permitted to attend, except to serve drinks at.

 

After all, he could have gotten a dominant like his father. He shivered at the thought as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Do you want to kneel or sit on the couch next to me?” Amelie asked softly, flipping through channels on the television until she decided on some random sitcom. She had a rare break from classes, and she wanted to spend the day with her submissive. “We can cuddle or something if you want to be up with me, but I really like playing with your hair.” She smiled, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch. She was still nervous about giving Ambrose orders. She didn’t want to upset him or come on too strong.

 

Ambrose kneeled down next to her without saying anything, answering her question. “Miss, can I have a free period?” He raised an eyebrow, humming appreciatively when she put her hand on top of his head. 

 

‘Free periods’ had been added to their second contract. If he was granted one, Ambrose could say pretty much whatever he wanted without being scared of punishment. Amelie seriously doubted that she would ever say no to a request for a free period. She didn’t want Ambrose to be scared of her.

 

She nodded, leaning down to kiss the submissive softly. 

 

“I know that you don’t want to scare me off or whatever, but you can be more assertive. I need you to be firm with me sometimes or I’m gonna drop. It’s okay, really. I promise that I’ll safeword out if whatever you’re doing bothers me.” He tilted his head to the side, looking at Amelie with all the reverence she’d come to expect from her wonderful submissive. “Ames, you don’t have to ask me about every single thing. I know that I’m a sub, but I’m a big boy, and I know what I want. And I want you to be a little more bossy.”

 

Amelie made a soft noise at the nickname, but continued on like it hadn’t been used in the first place. “I’m sorry. I’m just as new to dominating like this as you are to submitting like this, and I don’t know how much you need from me. I’ll be better about orders, I promise.” Communication was good. She took a deep breath and continued petting Ambrose, fixating on the television. 

 

“Thank you, miss.”

 

They sat there like that for a while, before Amelie got thirsty. She contemplated getting up herself, but she remembered what she had just told Ambrose. “Go get me a cup of tea.” She stopped her hand in its tracks and looked down at the man. She made her tone firm enough to convey that there was no room for negotiation, hoping that was what her fiance wanted. He rose silently and disappeared into the kitchen.

 

Her heart fluttered in her chest, just thinking about the way that Ambrose already put himself in her hands. He came back a few minutes later, handing her the cup before sinking back down to the floor. 

 

“Good boy.” She giggled at the way Ambrose preened under the praise, the way he tilted his chin and straightened his back. She patted the sofa next to her. “Up here, with me. I want to cuddle with you.” She said shortly, tugging on her submissive’s shirt. He pressed back into her arms and Amlie couldn’t help but want to kiss him again. He looked so handsome and peaceful and just… She was sort of glad that their parents had arranged their marriage. She wasn’t sure if that was selfish of her, but she really was fond of Ambrose. He was a perfect, attractive, kind, and smart submissive.

 

Instead of making the submissive turn around, she just pressed her lips to Ambrose’s hair. 

 

They were silent except for quiet laughter until they fell asleep at some point. Amelie wasn’t even sure when it happened, but she woke up in the middle of the evening. Ambrose was sitting on the lounge chair on his cell phone, tapping out what she assumed to be text messages.

 

She stretched out with a quiet groan. “Ugh. What time is it?” She was too tired to read their analog clock, or even pick up her phone and check it. Ambrose chuckled and shook his head fondly.

 

“It’s six, Ames. I didn’t know when you were going to be up, so I didn’t cook anything. Should I, or do you just want to order something?” 

 

“Mm, I love your cooking and everything, but a pizza sounds absolutely fantastic. Number on the fridge, order a large with pepperoni. You know the drill. You’re always so good for me, I don’t even know why I felt like I had to tell you what to do.” She sighed, sitting up and taking her cell off the nightstand. She had a couple texts from her sisters, a couple of Snapchat messages, and a missed call from Ambrose’s father. That was somewhat alarming.

 

She hit the quick dial button with a rapidly accelerating heartbeat.

  
“Amelie! It’s good to hear from you.” Mr. Madison’s voice came through after three rings. He sounded almost ominously cheerful. She took a deep breath and tried to stop her hands from trembling.

 

“It’s good to get the chance to talk to you. I noticed that you called me earlier, and I wanted to make sure that there wasn’t something wrong.” Amelie laughed quietly, hoping to God that she didn’t sound as scared as she thought she did. Whatever happened, she wouldn’t let him take Ambrose away from her. She would never, ever let him take Ambrose away from her. 

 

“Oh, it’s nothing to be worried about, dear. I was just going to ask you about the wedding, and when you were planning on really staking your claim on the boy.”

 

‘The boy’. Not Ambrose, or even ‘my son’. The way that Madison talked about submissives made her feel sick to her stomach. Ambrose was his son, regardless of what his brain told him to like. It was fucking stupid, how people treated subs.

 

Amelie was relieved, though. “I was hoping to have a small ceremony, close friends and family only, really soon. I just want to make him really mine, you know? And I don’t particularly care for big parties with a lot of people.” She sounded like an abusive piece of shit, but that was just how she was going to have to be with Ambrose’s family.

 

“I can respect that. My eldest son- Actually, forget about that. I assume that the two of you will be coming back down for the wedding?”

 

Amelie made an affirmative noise, but was silent after that. “I’m sorry, but he’s just finished dinner. I have to go.”

 

“That’s absolutely fine, Amelie. I’m looking forward to the wedding.”

 

She set her phone down with a relieved sigh and got up, going to the kitchen where Ambrose still sat after ordering their food.

 

“How soon is the wedding going to be, miss?” Ambrose’s voice was almost a whisper, he was speaking so quietly. Amelie furrowed her brows, stepping towards her submissive. He flinched back, clearly scared of being hit.

 

“Ambrose, what’s gotten into you? You seemed like you were perfectly fine, but now…” 

 

“I heard what you told father. You’re going to claim me. And that’s okay, but I’d like to know when the wedding is going to be so I can prepare, miss.” Amelie finally understood, her heart sinking in her chest.

 

“I didn’t mean that. I have to say those things because if I don’t, he might get suspicious about me being nice to you and take you away. I can’t let him take you away from me. I won’t ever, not in a million years, let that abusive monster that calls himself your father hurt you.” She shook her head, sitting down next to Ambrose and wrapping her arm around his shoulders. 

 

He visibly relaxed, glancing up at her quickly. “Maybe we should just do it. Here, before anything gets worse, miss. I hate the idea of him having that power over us. My brother James- He lives like ten minutes away. He and his sub Thomas could be witnesses. We could go down to the courthouse and get married and our parents wouldn’t even need to know about it.”


End file.
